SOUPS

THE CHAPTER COVERS THREE CLASSIC Chinese soups: wonton, egg drop, and hot and sour. Each begins with chicken stock. Given the relative importance of the stock in wonton and egg drop soups, homemade stock is preferable in these recipes. It is less important in hot-and-sour soup, which contains many strongly flavored ingredients.

WONTON SOUP

In many respects, wonton soup is the simplest Chinese soup to prepare—that is, if you have dumplings and stock on hand. In our testing we focused on the dumplings and other ingredients that are sometimes added to the broth.

The traditional wonton shape is a triangle with the two corners brought together. Some sources favor the traditional shape, while others recommend a tortellini-shaped wonton because leakage of the filling is supposedly less likely. In tortellini, the top corner (the one not bound to the others) is folded down.

We prepared both shapes and had no trouble with leaking in either case, as long as we were careful to brush the edges of the wrappers with water to create a tight seal. The triangular shape was the unanimous favorite for two reasons—tradition and texture. It met people's visual expectations (the tortellini evoked comments about Chinese-Italian food), and, when properly cooked, it allows for a large part of the wrapper to turn silky smooth, just as great noodles do in broth. The tortellini shape was too chewy and condensed in comparison.

The next question was the filling. We tested all of the dumpling fillings created for chapter 3 of this book. All were delicious, but the rich pork filling was deemed the most authentic. For a lighter soup, we suggest using chicken in place of pork (as directed in the filling recipe) or turning to the shrimp filling.

With shape and filling decided, our next concern was cooking the wontons. Boiling the wontons directly in the soup turned them mushy and slimy and had the effect of clouding the stock. Of the other two options, boiling and steaming them separately, we found boiling to produce the best results. The wrappers retained some body and yet remained tender and supple in the mouth. The steamed wontons were chewy.

The final issue to be tested was what ingredients (if any) to add to the broth. This area is fairly subjective, and we decided to stay close to tradition. Greens and scallions were deemed a must. (Napa cabbage, iceberg lettuce, or spinach are all good choices for the greens.) Carrots, while not absolutely necessary, are a common ingredient and add color to the soup.